Hermetically sealed rotary circuit controller



April 12, 1949. l. c. TlLLMAN.

HERMETICALLY-SEALED RQTARY CIRCUIT CONTROLLER Filed May 13, 1947Inventor: Irvin C. Tillman,

His Att orneg.

Patented Apr. 12, 1949 HERMETICALLY SEALED ROTARY CIRCUIT CONTROLLERIrvin C. Tillman, Baltimore, Md., assignor to General Electric Company,a corporation of New York Application May 13, 1947, Serial No. 747,820

4 Claims.

My invention relates to improved hermeticallysealed circuit controllersor spark gaps and while not limited thereto is particularly well adaptedfor use as a modulator for radar transmitters.

It is well understood that rotary switching devices may be enclosedwithin a sealed envelope to minimize the current interrupting duty onthe contacts. The present inventionv relates to improved devices of thischaracter, which is of simple construction and which may be readilyinserted in and removed from the circuit in which it is employed.

It is an object of my invention to provide a new and improved circuitcontrolling device.

It is another object of my invention to provide a new and improvedhermetically-sealed circuit controlling device in which the rotarycontact structure forms the rotor of a dynamoelectric machine.

My invention will be better understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, and itsscope will be pointed out in the appended claims. In the drawing, Fig. 1is an elevational view in section of a circuit controlling deviceembodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a schematic representation of an operatingcircuit for the device of Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring now to the drawing, I have shown my invention embodied in acircuit controlling device including a cylindrical glass envelope lwhich is adapted to be exhausted through a sealofi tubulation 2. A pairof elongated stationary contacts 3 and 4 are supported at diametricallyopposite positions within the envelope by leadin conductors 5 and 6,respectively, which are sealed through outwardly extending arms 1 and 8formed integrally with the envelope l. A rotary contact member 9 issupported from the central portion of the envelope by a rod-likesupporting member H) which is sealed at its lower end to a body of glassH formed integrally with the lower end wall of the envelope. The rotormay be straight, if desired, but the U-shaped structure illustrated isthe preferred form. The

upper end of the supporting member i0 is provided with a section l2 ofreduced cross-section which is received in an opening in rotor 9 andprovides a bearing therefor. As illustrated, the arms l3 and M of therotor member 9 extend parallel with the stationary contacts 3 and 4, andin one position of the rotor in closely-spaced relation with respect tothe stationary contacts. Both the stationary and rotary contacts may, to

advantage, be formed of a refractory material such as tungsten. Inoperation, the rotor 9 is subjected to a rotating field, produced by acoil structure I5 which surrounds the envelope I. As illustrated, thecoil and envelope are received within a conventional vacuum tube baseIS. The coil and base are secured to the envelope by a body of cement orcompound H, in accordance with a practice well known in the art ofmanufacturing electric discharge devices. The coil l5 includes twoseparate ring windings and the various phase terminals of the windingsare connected with four of the terminal prongs l8 by conductors Is. Asillustrated in Fig. 3, the ring winding includes two separate phasewindings 20 and 2| and all four terminals are brought out to theterminal prongs l8. In use, the windings may be connected, asillustrated, schematically in Fig. 3. A terminal of one coil isconnected directly to one conductor 22 of an alternating current supplycircuit, while one terminal of the other winding is connected to thesame supply conductor 22 through a capacitor 23. The remaining terminalsof the windings 20 and 2| are connected together and to the other supplyconductor 24 with this circuit it is Well-known that the two windingswill provide a rotating magnetic field. As utilized in the presentinvention, the rotating field cooperates with the rotor 9 and reactstherewith to maintain rotation of the movable contact member at thespeed of the rotating field. If desired, the motor may be a permanentmagnet which rotates in the rotating electrical field.

It is apparent that the device described above includes a minimum numberof parts and is relatively rugged and simple to manufacture. The deviceis easily plugged into the circuit in which it is used so thatreplacement is quickly and easily made.

While I have described and illustrated a particular embodiment of myinvention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changesand modifications may be made without departing from my invention in itsbroader aspects and I therefore, aim in the appended claims to cover allsuch changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scopeof my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A circuit controller comprising an envelope, an elongated conductingmember mounted for rotation about an axis substantially perpendicular tothe length thereof, a stationary contact supported within said envelope,a winding surrounding said envelope for providing an electromagneticfield which reacts with said elongated member to produce rotation ofsaid member to move said elongated member into circuit establishingrelationship with said stationary contact in predetermined angularpositions of said elongated member.

2. A spark gap comprising an envelope, an elongated member mounted forrotation about an axis substantially perpendicular to the lengththereof, a conductor sealed through said envelope and positioned inclosely-spaced relation with one end of said elongated member in oneposition thereof, a winding surroundin said envelope for providing anelectromagnetic field which reacts with said elongated member to producerotation thereof.

3. A rotary spark gap comprising an envelope, a substantially U-shapedmember supported within said envelope for rotation about'an aXissubstantially parallel to the arms of said member, a pair of lead-inconductors sealed through said envelope, a pair of stationary contactsconnected respectively with said lead-in conductors and extending in adirection generally parallel to the arms of said U-shaped member and incloselyspaced relation with respect thereto, and winding meanssurrounding said envelope for producing an electromagnetic field torotate said U-shaped member.

4. A rotary spark gap comprising an envelope. a substantially U-shapedmember supported within said envelope for rotation about an axissubstantially parallel to the arms of said member, a pair of lead-inconductors sealed through said envelope and providing stationarycontacts extending in a direction generally parallel to the arms of saidU-shaped member and in closelyspaced relation with respect thereto, acoil surrounding said envelope for producing an electromagnetic field torotate said U-shaped mem-- ber, an insulating base including an upstandig flange surrounding said envelope and said coil a d providing amounting for said device. 1

JRVIN C. TILLMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 996,091 Johnson June 2'7, 19111,428,856 Parker Sept. 12, 1922 1,456,082 Warren May 22, 1923 1,525,350Zuckerman Feb. 3, 1925 2,332,044 Bell Oct. 19. 1943

